Continuing my annual tradition of trying to record (photo or audio) 50 species of birds in and around Cottbus each December, I had most of the usual suspects and some weirdos. Apologies for the dirty record shots. As before, I’ve organised them taxonomically by family.
35 Passerines
7 Finches — Fringillidae
6 Tits — Paridae
And one singer: a crested tit duetting with a willow tit, while being overshadowed by a goldcrest:
6 Corvids — Corvidae
3 Thrushes — Turdidae
And in all its musical glory, the Mistle thrush: https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/628296899
2 Buntings — Emberizidae
2 Sparrows — Passeridae
2 Treecreepers — Certhiidae
1 Panuridae
1 Flycatcher — Muscicapidae
1 Shrike — Laniidae
1 Kinglet — Regulidae
1 Troglodytidae
1 Sturnidae
1 Sittidae
44 Non-passerines
16 Waterfowl — Anatidae
(While on sea ducks, I saw two other species near Zittau, which is stretching my field of “Cottbus and environs” quite far. Though it is still Lusatia. So probably not included in the count, but nice to have seen:
)
5 Accipitridae
5 Woodpeckers — Picidae
4 Pigeons — Columbidae
2 Herons — Ardeidae
2 Gruiformes
(an order, rather than a family, but I like the name)
2 Grebes — Podicipedidae
2 Gulls — Laridae
2 Divers — Gaviidae
1 Phalacrocoracidae
1 Wader — Scolopacidae
1 Falcon — Falconidae
1 Alcedinidae
Making a grand total of 79 (ten more than last year), or 81 if we annex Zittau. The big increase was in non-passerines, several of which were very flukey (rough-legged buzzard, black-throated diver, shelduck). I assume I won’t be seeing them again next year, so it’ll be a hard one to beat, but I did miss out on hen harrier, coal tit, and herring gull this time round. Plus those elusive dunnocks.